Paris Saint-Germain is a club in crisis, and the coach was already under fire before Lionel Messi’s ban and a fan demonstration outside Neymar’s home last week.
The Qatar-owned club’s season is already widely seen as a disaster, having been eliminated from the Champions League in the last 16 by Bayern Munich and from the French Cup at the same point.
Despite being five points ahead of Marseille with five games remaining and on set to retain the title and become French champions for a record 11th time, the season seemed to be reaching new lows.
After losing 3-1 at home to Lorient last Sunday, Christophe Galtier’s club has now lost six of 17 Ligue 1 matches in 2023, a veritable collapse for a team that had not lost a game in any league until to the World Cup.
Messi did not show up for training the day after the Lorient defeat, instead traveling to Saudi Arabia without PSG’s permission to fulfill duties under a contract with the country’s tourist agency.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has since been suspended by the club and will not play against Troyes this weekend.
Another blunder against opponents who haven’t won in four months and are on the verge of relegation is unimaginable for PSG and might be the end for Galtier.
In any case, with extensive changes planned over the summer, the coach is unlikely to be in charge next season.
Disgruntled supporters are closely following events. Several hundred people demonstrated outside the club’s offices on Wednesday, as well as in front of Neymar’s home in the Paris suburb of Bougival.
“Enough with the mercenaries,” they cried.
PSG condemned the incidents as the “intolerable and insulting actions of a small group of individuals,” but it all adds to the club’s feeling of disarray.
This weekend, they will face their closest rivals, Lens and Marseille, two enthralling clubs that play with an intensity that PSG cannot match.
The aim for both is to finish second and qualify for the Champions League automatically.
PSG’s next two opponents, Ajaccio and Troyes, are both relegation candidates and will almost certainly be unable to contain Kylian Mbappe.
Despite everything, this floundering, crisis-ridden PSG will undoubtedly win the Ligue 1 title again.
